Star-Tribune capital bureau

CASPER - Republican gubernatorial candidate Ray Hunkins continued his attack Friday on Gov. Dave Freudenthal's approach to the state's methamphetamine problems.

At a news conference in Casper, the rancher-lawyer from Wheatland accused Freudenthal of ignoring an April 28 resolution from the Wyoming County Commissioners Association urging him and the Legislature to "establish a master plan" to deal with the highly addictive stimulant.

"It will be local leaders, local law enforcement and local residents who do much of the work to fix this problem, but they need the state government to be a full and active partner in the cause," Hunkins said. "So far the governor is AWOL (absent without leave)."

In response, Freudenthal, a Democrat, said he does not generally respond to every resolution that crosses his desk, and said the gist of the group's message matches efforts already underway.

"Our response has generally been our work on the issues," said Freudenthal, who maintains that it's the job of state government to empower local communities to fight meth.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association said the group's resolution was not intended as an indictment of either branch of government.

"The Legislature and the governor are doing things (to tackle meth)," Joe Evans said. "We just wanted to make sure that they knew we are also very interested in getting something done."

Friday's news conference was the third time Hunkins has met with reporters to talk about meth. He earlier promised to appoint a cabinet-level administrator to tackle the problem if he defeats Freudenthal in the November general election. He also called for more Highway Patrol troopers to stop the flow of drugs from other states. Freudenthal also has asked the Legislature to pay for more troopers.

On Friday, Hunkins said his anti-meth strategy would cut government bureaucracy by establishing a single plan to tackle meth in the Cowboy State. He also reiterated a Legislative Service Office audit that showed fragmentation in Wyoming's approach to its meth problems.

"Meth is a statewide problem that demands a statewide solution," said Hunkins, adding that he will soon disclose his strategy to improve prevention and treatment of meth addiction in Wyoming.

Evans said his group adopts about a half-dozen resolutions a year, and wanted to send a strong message to Cheyenne about the problems meth is causing.

Meth addicts crowd jails, neglect children, overload prosecutors and cause myriad problems for law enforcement, he said. The association even considered a resolution that would have officially termed meth the organization's top priority, but decided other issues also deserved the spotlight.

"It's important that everybody be working toward the same goal," Evans said.

Even so, the group does not endorse political candidates, and the resolution was not meant as an attack on Freudenthal nor the Legislature, Evans said.

"I don't think anybody said the state is not doing enough," he added.

Meanwhile, Natrona County Commissioner Matt Keating stood with Hunkins at the news conference and testified that meth is costing his county dearly in terms of funds and lives lost to the drug.

"We do need more funding for programs so that instead of having these people sitting in jail we can get them back to be productive citizens," he said.

Keating said a statewide anti-meth strategy and strong leadership are critical.

"We need leadership from the cities, the counties and the state," Keating said. "I haven't seen it."

Natrona County Commission Chairman Drew Perkins echoed the need for a statewide plan to tackle meth.

"There's only two entities that are big enough to fund the solution to the problem, and that's state government and the federal government," Perkins said.

Reach Star-Tribune capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.